Watch: Kipp Caddy // Desensitised
"The project really started during COVID," says filmmaker Cameron Staunton of 'Desensitised', the film he's just made with Kipp Caddy.
"We travelled so much within Australia," says Cam, "and then after COVID there were all these other trips."
"When we sat down to put it together, the net was just so big."
Hearing this only heightens my regard for what Cameron and Kipp have created. Despite featuring some of the heaviest waves ridden in Australia, 'Desensitised' is a lesson in minimalism - in less is more. Only three breaks are shown - none named - the narration is sparse, the music haunting.
"We wanted to hypotise people," says Cam, so that meant pulling only the very best waves out of a seemingly-bottmless pit to choose from.
"Kipp always had this vision," explains Cam, and that vision became the piece of grit around which their pearl grew. "Anything that didn't match, no matter how good, ended up on the cutting room floor."
The idea runs counter to modern internet instruction which encourages saturation coverage with a scattergun approach. Extreme discipline was required, every filmmaker wants their work seen.
In making a 'minimal' film, Cam says "they were dancing a very fine line. There's gotta be a story to hold it together but we also have a respect for the viewership - they're not idiots."
So narration is limited - but where used it has impact - while the narrative is part-implied, part-impressionistic. Those 4K waves show how far the boy has come.
Of the high def footage: while it's possible to watch 'Desensitised' on a laptop, you're effectively watching another version. Less may be more, but when it comes to screens bigger is definitely better. Do yourself a favour.
Comments
Gnarles Barkley. Reckon he teleported during that last Shippies wave.
Insane. Straight to the top shelf.
5 stars.
Sensational film! Best I've watched in a long time. Refreshing to see a quality surf film without all the bullshit. Crazy high level of surfing.
Can slab. Those storage chip-ins are sick.
"Mental tenacity ~ physical capacity" - now that's a nice turn of phrase.
Conversely, I'm perplexed over the title "Desentisied" - 'coz my longevity with my surfing is 'coz I feel more alive doing that than I consider possible with any other activity.
Either way- masterful surfing, enormous courage and beautiful film making...the possibility of more of these types of evocative surfing films is very exciting to me
In the dictionary under “Knifing” there is no words…. Just a photo with the 2:44 time stamp
Awesome movie.....one of the best surf movies i have seen.......has it all .
exceptional film, so very well done, congrats to Kipp Caddy and Cameron Staunton, lucky Rip Curl. Ahmed Natiq's sound design on my radar now, too.
Thought you might like that aspect.
Though I didn't include it in the text, Cameron spoke very highly of Ahmed and knew they had something special when he started applying his talents.
great to hear, creative types have a bad rep, but they aren't so bad.
Just watched it again, to get away from posting on the franks-n-beans pole-vault thread.
Just incredible; a really beautiful film.
Wow, lost for words.
What an intense experience watching.
Can't imagine how it must feel to ride those, or somehow become desensitised to that level of aquatic violence that you feel pure enjoyment.
That last one I thought he was a goner. I echo the sentiments above.
That image of him as a kid, arms raised after the Shippies wipeout.... gave me goosebumps.
Amazing. He just absolutely loved it!
It's a very interesting film.
Did enjoy the message.
Can't watch those type of Wipeout nowdays
Soo hectic.
It has to be doing damage.
Long road to an achey later life.........
Hows the depot opening scenes .. what an amazing wave.... fkn gnarly
Beautifully put together.. bravo
Sick
Get him in the fMRI to see what part of his brain he's turned off. Can use Felipe as a control cohort
Yes I’ve noticed some of the big wave vloggers seem to need a lot of caffeine to get them going, could be an issue.